Tandem Fail

 I was heading down the foot on both of the two socks I have been working on and feeling very smug about it. I was already writing the FO post in my head.

 However, when I tried one on I realized in horror that I had forgotten to shape the heel. After working the flap I just picked up the gusset and knit on blissfully unaware of my ginormous boo boo.

 I didn't just do that on one. I did that on BOTH of them. Rip, rip, rip.

 It didn't take much time to fix the mess but it left me feeling really weirded out over this crazy error times two. I have knit lots of socks-I have 70 plus pairs in my sock bin alone, so how on earth did I do this-TWICE? That's a scary senior moment.

All's well that ends well but now I have kinky balls. I hate kinky balls.

Bits and Pieces

 The Mister wanted to go play golf yesterday so I had some time all to myself.

 I'm still working on Daddio's wedding ring quilt. I am now free motioning the rings themselves using Daddio's favorite thread. He had spools and spools of this variegated stuff. Every time we went to the fabric store he had to buy more.

I thought I would use it to do a continuous curve design on those little appliqued pieces which really need to be tacked down but it's turned out to be harder than I thought to get it right. Oh, well. On this one I am just going to embrace the wonky.

 I bought another smaller quilting hoop for his Dresden. I was having to work in a yoga position to get those borders done using my big hoop.

Bless you Amazon for always having just what I need to get the job done-and getting it here fast.

Fleeced

That lovely weekend of fleece washing bliss has not rubbed off. My little spinning corner in the living area has filled up in the past week.

 The Ladybug has this pretty pale green fiber going on.

 The Traditional is still working on Finley, the fleece that keeps on giving. I've been spinning this Shetland for three years. Three.

Here is that old Shetland I rescued last weekend. I couldn't be happier. It's turning out to be a lovely spin-and it almost went out in the garbage.

Third Time's the Charm

 This post may be deja vu for some of you. I accidentally double posted it on Friday and then post-posted it on the 15th. I had to delete them both and then rewrite it again for today. I was just trying to show off the April card kit that I haven't done much with yet.

 I also bought this cute little lightening bug stamp and die set. I also got some glow in the dark embossing powder in hopes of making a really cool card for the July Grand's birthday.

 After making 25 duck cards I have not exactly been in the mood for card making. Instead I have been slopping ink and paint in my art journal at night.

It's nice to not have to worry about a product. I just go and add more layers to the pages whenever I want to. I like making backgrounds. I'm still working on focal points.

Speaking of mindless pleasure, I've been getting used to my new pen and ink set by scratching random designs on my old watercolor swatches. Mindless pleasure. That's what it's all about for me.

Odds and Ends

 There's been stuff going on even though it's all been slow going thanks to all the bathroom drama. We've been working way past 2 so we can get this thing wrapped up.

 This is all I have gotten done on the latest weaving project. It looks great but it's very fiddly. I can only concentrate long enough to get a few rows done a night.

 This is all I have of the April block of the Little Sheep Virtues. My goal is to have the border done and the words. I need to pick up the pace.

This is the latest Dear Jane block. It took forever. See all those little wings hanging out? That means a lot of fiddly seams. It was a bear.

 I have all the interior borders finished and am starting the outers. I am listening to I'll Be Gone in the Dark while I am working on it and it's a real page turner so this project is flying by.

 My free motion quilting has been branching out. I'm taking risks on Daddio's wedding ring lap quilt and I like it. I think he would have too.

Finally, I have to thank Witchknits for this amazing surprise. It is a beautiful light and lacy shawl. I am a big shawl wearer in this drafty old house so this is very much appreciated. It will get tons of use.

I also have to thank Sandy for this adorable apron and project bag. I live in aprons and this one is so darn cute. I am also fighting the urge to start a project that matches that bag because that's how I do things.
Ladies, I can't thank you both enough!

Beach Update

 Since we've been on a mission to help Pup lose a few pounds we've been walking at the beach quite regularly in spite of the horrible weather.

Those clouds give you an idea of what it's been like here. It's been gloomy, cold and terribly windy. I am so over it.

The beach renewal is still going on. We watched the big diggers working up close the other day. Pup did not enjoy it. They were loud.

Whatever they are doing seems to be working. All that mud they dredged up has turned to stuff that is starting to look like sand. It smells a bit better too and I bet we can thank this terrible wind for that.

Ikea Fail

The Mister and I should never be allowed in Ikea again. We made giant fools of ourselves on the phone with them yesterday.

The story started on Tuesday, when on a ridiculously cold and windy day, we decided to go out on the deck and cut the wood for the trim. I have to say, it was my lowest point in the whole remodeling. I was not a happy camper but it got done and it looks great.

 Next up was the giant mirrored wall cabinet I wanted to go over the sink.

It seemed easy enough but nothing was fitting together as it should. The holes were all in the wrong place.

After struggling for a few hours, The Mister called Ikea and complained. They said the only thing we could do was pack the defective unit up and bring it back for an exchange. The Mister was not happy. As we were taking it all apart and packing it up, we noticed.....hmmmm. The boards we thought were all the same size were in fact an inch or so shorter than each other. Oh, my. We had the wrong boards in the wrong place. It took no time at all to put it together right. We felt so stupid.

THEN....after getting the thing together we realized it was BIGGER than the wall it needed to fit on. The Ikea measurement of the unit and the actual measurement were not the same. By this time we were ready to set the thing on fire so I let The Mister take it out back and just cut it down to size. I ordered a wood pencil that is supposed to be the same color with hope that it will fix all the splinters from the cut.

The new Ikea lighting unit that sits on top of the cabinet is next. Wish us luck.